The Tetraforce
by Matthewvp
Summary: When Link returns from Termina, he finds that everything is different. He is in an alternate universe where almost everything is the opposite. Link finds Zelda, Ganondorf, and his counterpart. What will happened when four pieces of the triforce are put together? Set in the world of Ocarina of Time after the event of Majora's Mask.


**Hello, this is my second ever attempt at writing a one shot. It turned out a lot shorter than my first one, about two thousand words shorter. Enjoy!**

Link emerged from the treeline with Navi and Epona at his side. He had just returned from saving Termina, and was exicted to return home. He blocked the bright sun with his hand and surveyed Hyrule field. Lon Lon Ranch looked the same as ever. Yet, as he looked at Hyrule Castle town, something seemed…off. As he stared longer, he realized that the castle was a different color, and Castle town seemed smaller than he remembered it. What was going on? _I guess being gone so long in Termina, I remember things wrong_ , Link thought. He decided to go to Lon Lon Ranch first. He could do with some milk to quench his thirst. Epona raced towards the ranch, eager to be home. Link arrived in a matter of minutes, galloping over the fields. When they were about to enter the ranch, Epona suddenly stopped, almost throwing Link off her back. "Whoa, girl. What's going on?" Epona whinnied sheepishly and took a few steps away from the ranch. "I'll go check it out, wait here," Link said. And Link walked up the road to the Ranch.

Almost immediately, Link noticed something was wrong. He didn't hear Malon's heavenly voice spreading out over the ranch. The place looked deserted. The stables had caved in and appeared to be burned and the barn was empty of all life. Then he heard a small crying noise coming from behind the house. He got out the master sword and slowly crept around the house. He gasped when he saw a small familiar redhead crying. There was a rope binding her to a metal stake on the ground. She looked as if she hadn't eaten for weeks. Her old beauty was gone and her ribs were clearly visible. The only reason she appeared to be alive is because she had been left near a crate of milk. But Malon's condition was not the most horrifying thing. In front of her frail body, there were two corpses burned beyond recognition. Link could only assume that they were Talon and Ingo. He rushed over to Malon and cut the rope binding her neck. She didn't even seem to notice his presence. She just kept muttering to herself. He leaned closer to listen: " _This is a dream. This is a dream. This is a dream_ " Link picked Malon up and brought her into the house. Her eyes were glazed over. Link didn't even know what to say to comfort her. "You'll be all right, Malon. I'm here now," Link stated, but other than a slight shift of her gaze towards him, Malon made no response. Link went to retrieve food from one of the cupboards, but it was filled with dishes. _Strange, I could've sworn they kept their food in this cupboard last time I visited._ Link searched until he came across a small cupboard filled with meat. He started a small fire in the oven to cook the meat. Malon's eye widened with terror. "No! No! Don't kill them," she yelled, "Get the fire away!" Link quickly doused the fire with a nearby bucket of water. As the fire disappeared, Malon drifted off to sleep. Sighing, Link took her upstairs and laid her in the bed. The sun was setting outside and he called Epona up to the ranch. Epona seemed skittish around everything. Link emptied his saddlebags of rations. Counting 10 days worth of food, he stuck half of it back in and ate some dried strips of meat and fish for dinner. He laid the rest on the table for Malon in the morning. _If she's still unresponsive in the morning, I don't know what I'll do_. He dug some graves for Talon and Ingo in front of a large tree in which he carved a short eulogy with his sword. He removed Epona's saddle, bridle, and saddle bags. He sat down, leaning against the front door of the house and slowly drifted off to sleep while feeding Epona some oats.

When the sun came out, Link woke up almost instantly. His mind still cloudy from drowsiness, Link wandered inside. He headed upstairs to check on Malon. To his surprise, she was sitting up in bed, and looked up at him when he entered, showing a small smile. "I woke up confused this morning, so confused. I couldn't comprehend how I got up here. Then I looked out the window, and saw that my knight in shining armor had come back for me," Malon spoke. There was a sadness in her voice, but also a joy, relief that her beloved Link had come back. She tried standing up, but stumbled, nearly falling before Link caught her. Link smiled, "Let's get you downstairs for some breakfast." He helped her walk down the stairs, since she insisted on doing it herself. He sat her down at the table in the middle of the room and gave her the food he set out for her. Malon took a few bites tentatively. "I'd almost forgotten what food tasted like." Link smiled at her and she smiled back. After Link made sure Malon had downed plenty of food and water, he decided that is was time for some answers. "Malon. I know this must be hard for you, and I would wait to ask, but something strange is going on." He paused before continuing. "What happened?" Malon looked at Link and then stared down at her empty plate. Link was afraid she was reverting back to her state the day before, and then she spoke, "It was Zelda's men. They came up to the Ranch without warning and said that they were going to take all our animals and rupees. After I protested, one of them said they wanted me as well. Talon and Ingo tried to fight to save me, but they failed. I begged them to stop, to just let those fiends take me, but neither of them would hear any of it. They burned both of them alive in the stables, after taking our horses of course. After I struggled relentlessly after that, they decided I would be more trouble that I was worth. They took all of our other animals, and ransacked the house until they found our money. After they had taken everything of much worth, they decided to have one last laugh and bound me to that metal stake, right in front of Talon and Ingo… oh goddesses, this has the be a dream. Please let this be a dream." Malon buried her face into her hands and started sobbing uncontrollably, as Link jaw almost dropped to the table. _Zelda's men? Why would Zelda ever do something like this?_ Link walked over and hugged her, trying to calm her down. "It's going to be okay Malon, you're all right now," he said. But he knew in his heart that Malon would never be all right. She would never fill the void that had been created by this tragedy. "Malon, I must get to the bottom of this. I am going to head for Hyrule Castle and confront the Princess. Whatever in the world is going on, I will figure it out."

"No! You can't go!", Malon almost yelled at Link, "What happened to you? Have you forgotten? Princess Zelda swore to kill you if you ever returned to claim the master sword. Please don't leave me, you're the only person I have left. Her Triforce of Power will destroy you." Link was finally putting the pieces together. For some reason, Zelda had become evil, gaining the Triforce of Power instead of Wisdom. "So then," Link asked, "does that mean Ganondorf has the Triforce of Wisdom?" Malon looked at link incredulously.

"Did you hit your head Link? Of course, he does. He barely escaped from Zelda's clutches when she took over Hyrule Castle. Link remembered the Master Sword, and how it felt in his hands. How he wished he could have it now.

"Malon, this is not my world. This can't be my world, but I'm going to fix it, don't worry." Looking outside, Link realized that almost the whole day was passed. The sun was setting. "Good-bye Malon, for now." Link ran outside as leapt onto Epona. He rode off towards the castle, ready to face whatever was waiting for him.

By the time Link reached Castle Town, darkness had fallen. He got off Epona and told her to go back to the ranch. Link jumped into the moat and swam until he reached a grate. He had snuck into castle town at night before, and remembered a path no one knew about. Link slipped through the gate, barely able to get through. The older he got, that harder it was to fit. He slipped around to a water reservoir to fill the moat if it ever got too empty. He climbed out, soaked and out of breath. There was not a single guard in sight. He slunk through the maze of streets in castle town, almost getting lost a few times. The layout was slightly different from what he remembered. Link finally made it close to the castle. Now he remembered the route into the castle. He started sneaking around until he realized that Talon's milk crate wasn't there. It had been moved somewhere else. Link didn't know what to do, and then he heard a guard turn the corner. With no place to hide, Link ran. He ran straight towards the surprised guards, quickly passing them. He had to escape before he was caught. He just kept running as a larger and larger group of guards started chasing him. There were screams and shouts for him to stop, but Link kept running straight through the streets of castle town. Then he noticed that guards were coming from the drawbridge as well. That was one exit closed. He started dodging guards left and right. They seemed to be endless and everywhere. Finally, he stopped, panting, and found himself in front of the temple of time. He looked back and the guards were still coming, so he sprinted inside. He rushed through the doors, looking back as he closed the doors, locking them. Then he turned towards the room and he noticed the scene playing out before him.

Another version of him lay on the ground, holding the Ocarina of time, and Zelda stood over him, rapier in hand. She lifted her rapier up into the air as if to stab Link2, as Link decided to call his counterpart, but Link rushed forward, blocking the strike, and knocking the sword out of Zelda's hand. "WHAT?!" Zelda exclaimed, "When did a second one of you pop up?" Link now saw how different Zelda's appearance was. She looked like an adult rather than her younger self. Her nails looked more like claws. He veins stood out, purple and bulging. Her hair was a mess and way longer than normal. Her eyes had a sort of wild look inside of them. Her dress was black with gold accents rather than her normal white and purple. She looked at him and it seemed as if her stare pierced through his very soul. She kicked him in the stomach, launching Link against the door. By this time Link2 had recovered and struck at Zelda with his own sword. Zelda swiftly dodged the blow, baring her teeth which had transformed into near fangs. Link got up, amazed at her sheer strength.

A battle ensued, the two Links fighting a beast-like Zelda. Link constantly asked Zelda to stop and remember her old self. Zelda refused to respond except with another clash of her blade. The battle was a stalemate. Neither side could injure the other, but both Links were tiring noticeably, while Zelda seemed like she wasn't breaking a sweat. Suddenly, a great yell sounded and a shower of glass rained from above as Ganondorf flew into the room, breaking a window. He landed with a summersault. Link almost wanted to laugh. Ganondorf wasn't nearly as buff as he remembered. He just wasn't buff at all. His muscles were small and he had a slight pot belly. It took a second for Link to realize that this wasn't the Ganondorf he had fought all those years ago. Other than Ganondorf's new physique the only difference between him and the Ganondorf Link remembered is that this Ganondorf looked a lot younger, even maybe a child.

"Link!" Ganondorf called out, "Wait, am I seeing double? Why are there two of you? Did you find like, half of the Four Sword?"

"No time to explain," both Links said simultaneously, and then both said "Hey! Stop Copying me!" Ganondorf just laughed as this, before Zelda tackled him. She grabbed his wrist, and said some sort of foreign chant. Ganondorf screamed and the Links tried to run to his side, but it was too late. Ganondorf's Triforce of Wisdom was not in Zelda's hands. Then Zelda turned around with newfound speed and strength. She grabbed the wrists of both the Links before they could even blink. Muttering the same chant as before, unimaginable pain spread across their bodies as their Triforce of Courage was taken.

Zelda yelled in triumph, "IT'S FINALLY MINE!" Then something mysterious happened. The triforce floated from her wrist, enlarging itself. Link gasped as he said it. It wasn't a Triforce anymore. It was a Tetraforce. Link's Triforce had made one too many and it filled in the empty spot in the Triforce. Now no one knew what was going to happen. The Tetraforce glowed magnificently, then it shined so bright, it blinded everyone in the room. The light literally spread across Hyrule like a blanket, covering everything, and Hyrule started to transform. All evil was being slowly seeped from the land. Zelda changed back to her normal appearance. Her minions disappeared, the trees grew taller, the flowers bloomed, and everything seemed to be overflowing with energy. After about two minutes, the light ended. All four of the people in the hall looked at the glowing triangle of light floating before them.

Then it disappeared. In an instant, the Tetraforce disappeared. All four of them glanced at their wrists, and the only one who still had a piece of the Triforce was Link. His piece had been returned to him. For what seemed like ages, no one in the room spoke. They were all stunned by what had happened. Then Link started to shimmer. He was bathed in light the same way the Tetraforce had done to Hyrule. He disappeared and had a vision. The land was healed. Everything was good. Everything was alright. A voice spoke to him, that he recognized as the goddess of time who had helped him in Termina, _Link, you have done well. I made a mistake, as you can see. I never meant to send you to this world, but you have helped save it anyways. Let me return you to your world, with the knowledge that you have saved two others. Goodbye Link, and this time, for good._

 **Thanks for reading this story. This was something I came up with while discussing some ideas with friends. I originally planned for an epic battle where Link fought Zelda and won, but then I thought about the Tetraforce theory (look it up) and I decided to do something with that. Sorry that the story is a bit on the sloppy side, with some definite choppiness and plot holes, but I wasn't really all that passionate about writing it, and I wanted it to be a oneshot, not a longshot. If you have read this far, please take a few minutes and leave a review. Both praise and criticism are greatly appreciated.**


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